Mail-box



J. J. MASON.

MAIL BOX.

APPLICATION FILED FEB.l61I9l6.

1,1 95,378. Patented Aug. 22, 1916. Q I 2 SHEETSSHEET I.

7' a I j 91 4 j Q RI WITNESSES:

his ATTORNEYS 1.1. MASON.

MAIL BOX.

APPLICATION FILED FEB-16,1916.

1 1 95 3'78.- Patented Aug. 22, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

7365 A TTOR/VE r5 earner @YEFEQE.

JOSEPH J. MASON, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK.

I/[AIL-BOX.

Specification of Letters Patent.

tatentcd Aug. 2533, 19M".

Application filed February 18, 1916. Serial No. 78,501.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Josnrn J. Mason, of Rochester, in the county of Monroe and State of New York, have invented certain ,new and useful Improvements in Mail- BoXes; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, and to the reference-numorals marked thereon.

My invention relates to mail boxes of the type employed generally for use in connection with homes or residences as a temporary receptacle in which mail can be deposited by a carrier, to be later removed by the owner of the boX, and the chief purpose of my invention is to afford a simple and efficient device of this character that can be cheaply manufactured, in order to have a product easily within the financial reach of the ordinary householder.

A further purpose of the improvement is contemplated in providing a waterproof receptacle that serves effectually to keep the contents entirely dry, and free from rain or snow.

An additional object of the improvement is to permit of locking the boX to prevent anyone unauthorized from gaining access to it, while at the same time permitting it to be readily opened and the contents to be easily discharged when the locking mechanism is released.

To these and other ends the invention resides in certain improvements and combinations of parts all as will be hereinafter more fully described, the novel features being pointed out in the claims at the end of the specification.

In the drawings: Figure l is a front elevati on of a box constructed in accordance with my invention; Fig. 2 is a side view of the same; Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional View on line 3 -3 of Fig. 2; Fig. 4c is a vertical sectional view on the line 4 of Fig. 1,

ith the boX closed, and illustrating the cover in elevated position, as indicated by dotted lines; Fig. 5 is a similar view showing the box open, and Fig. 8 is a sectional view on line (i 6 of Fig. 5.

Similar reference characters throughout the several views indicate the same parts.

in the present embodiment there is employed a housing which consists of a back wall 1, a top wall 2 secured to the back wall, and inclined downwardly and forwardly with respect to it, shown in Figs. 4 and 5 particularly.

3 designates the side walls of the housing, which serve to connect the top and back walls already referred to, and which are preferably coextensive with the top wall and extend from the front edge of the latter downwardly and rearwardly to a point somewhat above the lower edge of the back wall, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2..

Pivotally arranged between the side walls of the housing already described, is a body portion which consists of a front wall t and side walls attached to said front wall, and pivotally mounted on bearings or pins 6 carried by the side walls 3 of the housing. The side walls 5 of the body portion of the box are provided with rear edges having upper portions which are cut away or inclined with respect to the lower portions as indicated at 7, so as to permit the body portion and the side walls thereof to swing so as to open the box in the manner shown in Fig. 5. The cutaway portions 7 also serve to limit the movement of the body portion, when the latter is opened by pressing inwardly upon the upper part thereof, through its engagement with the back wall 1 as shown in Fig. 5. The body portion is moved to open position in the manner already inclicated, and when released, assumes its normal or closed position by reason of the comparatively greater weight that is distributed below the pivotal axis of the body portion, which is restored to closed position by the resulting gravity action.

The front and back walls are provided with flanges 8 and 9, respectively, near or adjacent to their lower edges, and the flange 9 carries an overhanging or overlapping portion 10 which engages a corresponding recess 11 of the flange 8. The upper surfaces of the flanges 8 and 9 are inclined downwardly and inwardly as shown at 13 and I l, in Figs. at and 5, thereby cooperating, when the body portion of the boX is closed, to afford a substantially \l-shaped recess or bottom which has a tendency to direct letters or other particles of mail within the receptacle, toward the center thereof, and consequently more readily effect discharge of the contents when the body portion is moved to open position, and effectively prevent any tendency of a letter to stick within the receptacle. The front wall 4 is also preferably provided with an opening 13 in which is arranged a transparency 1 k to permit viewing the interior of the box, and 15 is a wire holder secured in any desirable manner to the front Wall and serving to retain papers 7 and other larger parcels which can not be inserted in the box. The body portion is retained in closed position in any convenient manner as by means of a lock mechanism consisting of a rotary bolt 16 having a looking extension 17 which when in one position engages the rear side of the front wall in the manner shown in Fig. 4i and thus prevents said wall from being moved in wardly. The bolt 16 is housed within a sleeve 18 and controlled by a spring 19, being held in its unlocking position by engagement of the projection 17 with a recess in the sleeve 18, and 20 is a squared end on the bolt 16 to receive a suitable operating key.

It will be seen that with the parts in the position shown in Fig. at, the locking bolt must be turned by the proper key in order to release the body portion of the box and the latter can then be swung on its pix otal axis by exerting pressure inwardly against the upper part of the front wall. Particles of mail matter are inserted in the box through an opening 21 in the top wall and 22 is a cover, preferably of metal, which is pivotally secured to the upper portion of the back wall 1 by means of lugs 23. When it is desired to insert an article through the opening 21, the cover 22 is lifted to the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 4 and, when released, falls to the position shown in full lines and serves as a guard or protector, preventing entrance of lwater through the opening in the top wall.

I claim as my invention:

1. A mail box comprising relatively movable back and front walls, and flanges secured to the back and front walls having inclined upper surfaces which cooperate to inclined upper surfaces that cooperate to form a substantially V-shaped bottom when the box is closed.

3. A mail box comprising a housing consisting of back and top walls, side walls connecting said top and back walls, a body portion pivotally mounted between said side walls of the housing and comprising front and side walls which latter are provided with rear edges that incline forwardly and upwardly at their upper portions when the body portion is closed, forming cutaway portions which permit the body portion to swing to open the box, while said inclined upper portions act to limit the opening movement of the body portion by their engagement with the back wall.

l. A mail box comprising a housing consisting of back and top walls, side walls connecting said top and back walls, a body portion pivotally mounted between said side walls of the housing and comprising front and side walls, which latter are provided with rear edges that incline forwardly and upwardly at their upper portions when the body portion is closed, forming cutaway portions which permit the body portion to swing to open the box, while said inclined upper portions act to limit the opening movement of the body portion by their engagement with the back wall, and flanges secured to the back and front walls having inclined upper surfaces that cooperate to form a substantially V-shaped bottom when the box is closed.

JOSEPH J. MASON. Witnesses:

H. E. STONEBRAKER, RUSSELL B. GRIFFITH.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

